GUNN, Herbert James

Sir Herbert James Gunn RA (1893-1964) was a British portrait painter. He studied for several years at the Glasgow School of Art and the Edinburgh College of Art. In 1911, he went to the Académie Julian in Paris where he studied under Jean-Paul Laurens. After he left Paris, Gunn travelled to Spain and then spent time in London, where he mostly painted landscapes. Gunn enjoyed a successful career with portraits of eminent soldiers, academics, judges, and so on, painted in a solid, forthright style. He was a more interesting painter in less traditional work, notably his portrait of the blind composer Delius (City AG, Bradford), which was the public’s choice as ‘picture of the year’ at the Royal Academy in 1933. Also well known is Gunn’s Conversation Piece at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, 1950 (NPG, London), showing George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), and Princesses Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Margaret.